1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a projector.
2. Related Art
A projector which has an optical system includes a light source, a light modulation element for forming an optical image by modulating light emitted from the light source, and a projection lens for projecting the optical image is known. According to this type of projector, the light modulation element and a polarization plate included in the projector and generating heat when receiving light from the light source are generally cooled using a cooling fan so as not to deteriorate the functions of the light modulation element and the polarization plate. On the other hand, the thickness of the projector has been decreasing in recent years. Under these circumstances, a structure which contains a sirocco fan on the side surface of the projection lens to sequentially cool the light modulation element has been proposed in JP-A-2001-281613 and JP-A-2009-150975.
However, the technology disclosed in JP-A-2001-281613 does not specify the positioning direction and other conditions of the sirocco fan. Moreover, the size of the fan which is preferably the largest possible size for enhancing the cooling capability depends on the thickness (height) of the housing constituting the exterior package of the projector, and thus the structure is not desirable for reduction of the thickness of the projector. According to the technology shown in JP-A-2009-150975, the thickness in the thickness direction can be reduced, but the plane size cannot be decreased in some cases.
Therefore, such a projector which has a cooling fan disposed with high efficiency to reduce the thickness and the plane size of the projector has been demanded.